Just getting in from a few days back East. Debra, my partner, had a speaking gig at a neat little school, Assumption College, in Worcester, MA. and I tagged along. We were given a wonderful reception by Professor Susan Scully-Hill and her lovely family. Once done we headed to Boston to meet an old friend.
Where is the Boston I've come to love? I cut my teeth on Robert Parker's Spenser novels, read William Dean Howells in college. I loved Dennis Lehane's Pat and Angie series and they all, along with my penchant for history, created this wonderful city full of charm and character. I first went to Boston 16 years ago and it's been one of my greatest disappointments. I could never figure it out. Always a fan of revolutionary history I wanted to visit every graveyard, statue and church I could fit into my trip. I saw plenty, The Old North Church, Harvard, Quincy Market as well as many historical grave sites but I found it unbearably sterile for some reason. Still, that's the power of literature, especially when the city is as much a character of the novel as the protagonists it portrays.
In spite of that when I read a Robert Parker novel I"m still transported to the fictional Boston and I'm able to put aside my reality. So I'm pushing Robert Parker this week. He's the king of action and dialogue. He never fails to make me laugh and I still look forward to the next Spenser novel in spite of having been reading him for 26 years. I first read the JUDAS GOAT, his first novel and he just got better from there. Parker is pretty prolific and writes various series and has written a couple of westerns as well. In fact we just watched Apaloosa, which Ed Harris adapted from a Robert Parker novel. It was pretty good and is a nice look at what makes Robert Parker such an engaging writer.
Another Boston writer you might not be aware of but who's written like 11 novels is Jeremiah Healy. The first of his books I read was, THE STAKED GOAT, followed by SO LIKE SLEEP. Healy provides a solid charachter in John Francis Cuddy a Boston P I. As I recall (it's been over 20 years) the Staked Goat began with Cuddy standing by his wife's grave. He's having a conversation with her. He's a caring man and often visits the grave site when he needs to think. Nothing unbelievable or supernatural about any of this but it shows Cuddy's soft side, which not all tough guy detectives have below the surface. Boston plays a big part in the books and he does a really good job keeping readers coming back for more. Not sure why he never got bigger up but if you like the Spenser novels or read P I mysteries take time to check him out. Most of his books seem to be in print.
My final Boston series is the Doc Adams series by Rick Boyer. I don't know if any of these are in print but both my sister and I really loved the first few books. The first of his books I read was entitled THE WHALES FOOTPRINT. It was an advanced reading copy that Houghton Mifflin published in the late 80s when it seemed they wanted to break him out. I wonder why he never blew-up?
Doc Adams is a dentist in Massachusetts and while it's not necessarily a "Boston novel," it very much has that feel. These books are both cozy and violent, Boyer features lots of food, much like Spenser. Adams loves to cook and drinks great wines. He has this great life, He Has a motorcycle and sauna at home. His wife is perfect and understanding so there's a slight twist on the lone guy mystery. He has a side kick that's capeable of any act of violence and that somehow provides a nice balance to the homey nature of the dentist.
After reading the WHALE'S FOOTPRINT, I went to the first book in the series THE DAISY DUCKS and had to read all I could find, MOSCOW METAL, is a great thriller with lots of twists and good violent action. Billingsgate Shoals won him an Edgar for best mystery novel of the year. PENNY FERRY delivers. It's been a long time but I think that's the one that features Scacco and Vanzettii the mystery.
Do yourself a favor and check him out, the guy won an Edgar so he's got the chops. I haven't stumbled upon a Boyer novel in a long time but I've put myself in the mood. I'm going to call my local independent bookstore and track down the later books.
I'm signing off now. I"m afraid my trip to Bean Town ended me up in the hospital. Had a sandwich at the Wolfgang Puck Grill at Logan, not sure if it was the sandwich or something viral but I spent a couple of days in the hosptial with what doctors called food poisoning. Boston let me down again but the mythical Boston won't. Thank God for her mystery writers.
